


a night by the fire

by missmaier



Category: The Walking Dead (Telltale Video Game)
Genre: Fluff, Getting to Know Each Other, Hurt/Comfort, James is cute, M/M, kinda confessions? idk sktkskk, louis cant handle it
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-21
Updated: 2018-10-21
Packaged: 2019-08-05 12:35:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 852
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16367846
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/missmaier/pseuds/missmaier
Summary: Now that James is a semi-official member of the Ericson group, Louis is hellbent on getting to know him better.





	a night by the fire

**Author's Note:**

> *salutes* hi whats up this is v random and self indulgent I swear it was an accident
> 
> so this is meant to take place after the kids rescue Louis + the others from Delta (assuming Clementine saved Violet) and assuming all things went well and James helped them !!
> 
> unbeta'd as ever

James was about the biggest fucking mystery Louis had ever seen.

He’d had his doubts about the guy when she showed up to the front gates with Clementine dressed in  _ walker skin _ (which was still seriously disgusting), but when he aided the others in his rescue from Delta, Louis had developed a healthy respect for the guy.

The problem with James is that the more Louis found out, the less he knew. He was a nice guy, albeit quiet, but he was hard to figure out. Louis knew that he was sweet and caring, too selfless for his own good, and… kind of a genius. As gross as the walker thing was, it was smart. But he seemed to be withdrawn, even if he had tried a couple times to open up to the group. James seemed to stick to Clementine like Velcro, but now that Louis was curious, he wasn’t about to give up.

Plus, the dude was kinda cute.

One night, when James was on watch and everyone else was asleep, Louis sat down right next to him. With zero warning whatsoever. James looked startled, but he didn’t move away, which Louis counted as a win. James wasn’t wearing that creepy mask and Louis could see his face much better. He certainly wasn’t complaining.

“So… James, what’s your deal?”

“My… deal?” James asked, furrowing his brow. “I’m not sure I understand.”

“You know!” Louis bumped his shoulder with his own. “You literally never met me and you knew Clem for like. A day before you agreed to help her with some crazy rescue mission. I don’t get you, dude.”

James looked away, folding and unfolding his hands. Louis thought it was probably a nervous habit. Which was cute. “I… don’t like what those raiders did to people. To you and your friends. I wanted to help.”

“Yeah, but you risked life and limb to help,” Louis said thoughtfully, leaning back on his hands. “Why?”

James turned his gaze to Louis for a brief moment, then averted his eyes again. “My dad… he used to say I care too much. I guess he was right.”

“Nothing wrong with caring, dude.” Louis offered him a comforting smile, patting his hand gently. “That’s why people here like you so much.”

James looked over at him much too quickly. “People here… like me?”

“Yeah!” Louis chuckled, and James looked taken aback. “What, you thought we didn’t?”

James drew his knees into his chest, tearing his gaze from Louis’. “I just… haven’t had a group like this in a long time. A really long time.” James was facing away, so Louis couldn’t see his face well, but he could’ve sworn he saw a slight upturn of the other boy’s lips. “Feels nice.”

Louis smiled, bumping his shoulder again. “Good to have you, buddy.”

James mirrored his smile, and Louis felt his heart skip a beat. “Thank you. Louis.”

“No problem, James,” Louis wrapped an arm around his shoulders, giving him a slight tug before letting his hand drop down to his waist. James looked surprised by the action, but he still didn’t move away. “Think you’ll be around for a while?”

James shrugged. “I don’t know.”

“You should stay. With us.” James looked into his eyes, and actually held the gaze. “You’re a nice addition. You really are.”

“You really think so?” James asked quietly, and Louis nodded a little too enthusiastically.

“Hell yeah! A cute guy who can control walkers on our side? We would be basically unstoppable,” Louis said with a wink, and James gave him a small smile. James pulled off his weird flesh gloves, and shivered a little bit, leaving Louis to wonder when the last time he’d taken them off had been.

“I know I’m… not the best with people,” James said sheepishly, and Louis didn’t know if he imagined the smaller boy leaning closer into his touch. “But thanks for being so nice.”

Louis rolled his eyes good-naturedly. “Hey, man, you don’t have to keep thanking me.”

James’ shoulders hunched, and Louis recognized the movement. Violet did it a lot, especially when she was feeling self conscious. “Sorry.”

“Don’t be  _ sorry _ , either.”

“See? Not great with people.”

Louis did something then he wasn’t sure if he would regret or not, but it was sort of a spur of the moment thing. He leaned in and kissed James gently on the cheek. James went completely stiff in his arms, unsure of how to react. “I think you’re perfect,” Louis said, quieter than he’d ever said anything.

After a moment of excruciating silence, James glanced up at Louis, with a large smile and appreciative look in his eyes. This time he actually did lean closer.

“Am I still not allowed to thank you?”

“You don’t need to.”

James smiled softly, turning his face into Louis’ coat. Louis would be surprised if James didn’t hear his heart beating out of his chest. “Thank you, Louis,” James said, completely ignoring Louis telling him not to say it. Louis rolled his eyes, resting his chin on top of James’ head.

“No problem, walker boy.”


End file.
